Anya had noticed that Silas had been a bit nervous for the last few weeks, and she wondered what the reasoning was. He had progressed so much since they had first met at camp three years ago. He hardly stuttered around her anymore, she didn’t see him having panic attacks, and overall, he just seemed so much more relaxed. But, through the last week or two she had noticed a bit of a change. It wasn’t anything bad, she just noticed he seemed to be a bit more frantic than usual. She tried not to think too much of it, figuring that if Silas did have something wrong, that their relationship was good enough to where he would come out and tell her. They always worked through things together, and she had never been one to push. She looked up when she saw him start to walk over to the front counter, and she followed behind him, smiling as she saw him hand her the book and mention their anniversary. “Aw, Silas! Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I forgot! I was doing so well, I got like the four months in a row!” She laughed, knowing it was a bit ridiculous for them to celebrate every month, but she was more than happy to do it. “You did? Aw, thank you babe.” She smiled and leaned up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. Pulling away, she looked down at the book and opened it, gasping when she saw the ring and the little note. “Oh my gosh.” She beamed, her free hand going to cover her mouth. “Oh my gosh.” She repeated, completely shocked by what was happening. “Silas!” She grinned, happy tears already filling her eyes. “Are you serious? Did you know this was in here? Did you buy the wrong book by accident?”
Silas knew he was the last person the planet that could keep a well hidden secret; especially from Anya. He told her everything, and she knew everything about him, including things he never told people in his past, so hiding something like this from her was definitely a challenge. It was especially difficult with how picky he was with how to do it. He debated so many different scenarios–like cooking her dinner and hiding it in the food, or making it super public so everyone would know just how much he really loved her, but he finally just settled on something personal to the both of them, in a place that was personal to both of them. “It’s– It’s okay, you’ve got a hall pass f-for this one.” He grinned at her, and it only widened when she kissed his cheek. It was simple things like her kissing his cheek or even just smiling at him that made him fall for her all over again–and it happened on a daily basis. He bit down hard on his lower lip as he watched in anticipation her opening the book. His heart was racing and his hands were still shaking, but that all went to rest at her reaction. “I, um– N-No, I promise It– it was all on purpose.” He blushed fiercely, giving her a shy smile before reaching to grab the ring with a shaking hand, then getting down on one knee in front of her. “Anya– I-I, um..” He let out a laugh, “I-I rehearsed this over and over again, b-but I’ve just forgotten everythin’ I was goin’ to say.” He smiled up at her brightly, “I love you more than anything. Y-You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and- and the one person in this world who’s made me realize life really is– is beautiful, and that I should be thankful for the people in my life. But I’m especially thankful for you. You– you met me when I-I was at my worst, a-and you still stuck around. If that doesn’t mean I-I should want to keep you forever, th-then I don’t know what would.” He held the ring up to her a bit more, “Will you– Will you make me the happiest bloke on e-earth and…um, marry me?”
